David R. Cooper

“ If a power development is proposed of such a character that some considerable sacrifice of power might be made in the dry seasons with no serious loss, most small streams may be developed to provide for as much as one-quarter to one-half of a cubic foot per second per square mile. On the other hand it is often found practicable to provide a small auxiliary power plant, such as gasolene or kerosene, to fall back upon in dry weather, or to supply extra power occasionally, in which case the water-power development need not be limited to the minimum flow of the stream. ”

“ The prime requisite to the creation of a water power is the existence of falling or flowing water. The amount of power which may be available varies; first, with the amount of water flowing, and second, with the amount of fall. It requires about one cubic foot of water per second, falling through a height of ten feet, to make available one theoretical horsepower. The fall may be either naturally concentrated at one point in a cascade or it may be artificially concentrated, for the purpose of development, by combining the fall of several cascades or a series of rapids. ”

“ Perhaps the most promising source of power for farmers in New York State is the power that may be developed from falling water. This kind of a power plant requires comparatively little personal attention while in operation, and needs no replenishing of fuel except such as Nature herself provides in the flowing brook. Not only are there many of these powers that are undeveloped as yet, but there are many others which have been developed at some previous time and have recently been allowed to fall into disuse for various reasons. ”

“ Accordingly, the following discussion of the many and varied uses for power on the modern farm, together with descriptions of developments now in use, and notes on developing a small water power, are submitted in the hope that they may be of interest and service to those who have chosen farming for their livelihood or pleasure, especially by assisting them in the consideration as to whether or not it may be worth while to develop the power of any particular stream. ”

“ The turbine is a type of wheel which is very extensively used. It is usually constructed of metal and consists primarily of a series of curved vanes, or runners, whose arrangement is similar to a screw. The action of the water flowing through these curved vanes causes the vanes and shaft to revolve, the vanes being solidly connected to the shaft, which may be either horizontal or vertical.
The fundamental working principle of an impulse waterwheel is the turning into useful work of the impulse due to the velocity of a jet of water issuing from a contracted orifice. ”

“ The amount of water which flows in a stream, in New York State, whether large or small, is subject to remarkable variation. Only one who has observed very carefully and continuously, by actual measurement, the extremes of fluctuation to which a flowing stream is subject, is in a position fully to appreciate this. Some of the larger rivers of New York State are subject to such fluctuations of flow that the amount of water discharged during flood periods is several hundred times as much as the amount that flows in the extreme dry period. ”

“ Through the farm flows Oriskany creek, which ripples over its gravelly bed in a channel from twenty to thirty feet wide. The boys said to their father, “Why not harness the creek and make it do some of the work?” There was no precipitous fall of the creek on the farm, but the boys proposed to concentrate at least a portion of the fall by constructing a dam. This they intended to do primarily for the purpose [Pg 13] of developing enough power to light the homestead and farm buildings with electricity and to saw the wood and do away with some of the other tiresome farm tasks. ”

“ On the other hand, the purposes for which power is usually required are not only for the elevation of water for a water supply, but for many other and varied requirements. In such cases the power must be developed in such manner that it may be utilized to operate machinery near the site of the development, or transmitted for some distance, and there used to operate machinery or for lighting or heating. To develop water power in this manner requires some kind of a waterwheel. ”

“ A grist mill, driven by electric motor, is part of the farm equipment, and the sausage-chopping and mixing machines are driven by a four-horsepower motor. Roots for the sheep are cut by a machine driven by motors of one and one-half and two horsepower, and food for the fish is prepared by a grinding machine driven by a two-horsepower motor. Wood-working machines and machine tools are driven by motors in the carpenter and machine shops. ”

“ The waterwheel probably has an efficiency of about eighty per cent, that is, it will probably develop about eighty per cent of the theoretical energy of the falling water. The remainder is lost in friction in the wheel-box at the entrance to the wheel and in the velocity still remaining in the water after it leaves the wheel. Five per cent of the power generated on the wheel shaft is probably lost by friction of the belting, so that, at rated load, about seventy-six per cent of the theoretical power of the water is probably delivered to the shaft of the generator. ”

“ The plant furnishes power sufficient to light the farmhouse and all of the buildings with electricity, as well as those of the neighbor who turns the water on and off. In the dairy a small electric motor of about 3 horsepower, actuated by the electric current, drives the cream [Pg 30] separator and also furnishes power for running the grindstone, feed cutters, hay fork and fanning mill, in addition to which the power is also used to milk the cows and cut the ensilage and to do numerous other bits of work about the place. ”

“ Motor-driven Sewing Machine
However, the convenience and cleanliness of electricity are fairly well known and appreciated, but the means by which electric currents may be generated economically, and by which this form of energy may be applied to bring about sufficient returns, financial and otherwise, to warrant the installation of an isolated plant for a farm or country home, are not so generally understood.
Electric current may be generated by means of a dynamo, or generator, with any kind of a power-producing plant. ”

“ While perhaps electric lighting is the use most frequently thought of, it is, however, in the application of electric current or power to the operation of labor-saving devices that the greatest gain is to be derived on the large farm or country place. ”

“ After coming in touch with the outer world and the great modern achievements of science and invention, especially of a mechanical or engineering character, the boys quite naturally set their wits to work to devise some way in which the daily labors of those at home might be made less burdensome. ”

“ Twelve horsepower will drive a fifty-inch circular saw, sawing 4000 feet of oak, or 5000 feet of poplar, in a day.
Ten horsepower will run a sixteen-inch ensilage cutter and blower, and elevate the ensilage into a silo thirty feet high at the rate of seven tons per hour.
One horsepower will pump water from a well of ordinary depth in sufficient quantity to supply an ordinary farmhouse and all the buildings with water for all the ordinary uses.
In determining the size of power plant required in any particular instance the use requiring the largest amount of power must be considered. ”

“ The development of a water power by means of any kind of a waterwheel results in the conversion of the energy of the falling water into mechanical power which is exerted in a more or less rapidly revolving shaft. ”

“ In cases where a small brook of suitable quality is available for domestic water supply, it is often entirely practicable to install a hydraulic ram which will pump a sufficient proportion of the amount of supply to furnish a household with all the water necessary for ordinary domestic purposes, in spite of the fact that the brook may be on a lower level than the house. ”

“ The “Heart’s Delight” farm power equipment is much more extensive than would be warranted on a farm of ordinary size, but the installation serves to illustrate the extent to which the application of power may be carried, on an unusually large produce farm. In many instances a community of farmers could develop such a water power and distribute the power among themselves to mutual advantage and profit. ”

“ While the stream may shrink in the dry summer and fall, it is quite certain to swell again in the spring and to continue the process, year after year, as the source of supply is continually renewed. But the power which might have been, but was not developed in the year 1910, cannot be reclaimed in 1911 or ever after. Much of the power that is wasted by inequality of the flow of the stream may be saved by conservation through water storage ”

“ The large wheel is used to run a sawmill and feed mill. The 6-horsepower wheel drives an electric generator, or dynamo, which furnishes the electric lights, and also electricity for driving the small motors about the place. The 3-horsepower wheel runs the small saws, machine tools, etc., in Mr. McDonald’s shop.
A few miles east from Mr. Van Wagenen’s farm in Schoharie county is another small power development owned by Mr. Frank Caspar. He has installed two waterwheels on a small creek and uses the power from them to drive the machinery in a table and furniture factory. ”

“ I think our waterwheel behaves better every year. Carbon brushes for the generator last a long while and oil is a very small item. Each year I am improving the plant, and very soon I expect to install a motor-driven washing machine and wringer to prepare the clothes for the electric iron and to put a vacuum cleaning outfit in the house. ”

“ In many cases, especially where the fuel is very cheap, this is the best power for a farmer to have. Steam-power plants, as well as gasolene, kerosene and alcohol plants, all require personal attendance during operation and necessitate more or less frequent applications of fuel. Wind power is also a source of energy which may well be considered by the farmer who needs a small amount of power. ”

“ In considering a water power it should also be borne in mind that the full theoretical amount of a water power can never be realized, a certain portion being taken up in friction in the waterwheel and in losses in the electric generator, transmission lines, motors, etc. ”

“ Owing to the fact that a hydraulic ram may be applied only to the purposes of elevating water, it is not generally considered as a means of developing water power, although in the broadest sense it does constitute such a development. ”

“ As the transmission line leaves the power house it crosses a highway and runs in a perfectly straight line to the house. Over the highway insulated wires were used as a safety precaution, but bare aluminum wire was used for the remainder because it was cheaper.
The buildings are all in a cluster and a branch from the transmission line runs into each one where the current is used. All the wires which are inside of any of the buildings, or are close to the woodwork, are covered with insulation, and, where concealed, are further protected by being placed in twisted metal tubes. ”

“ Many of these minor streams present possibilities for small individual developments of power sufficient to supply all the requirements of the owner at a comparatively small cost. Numerous farms in the State have on them brooks or creeks capable of supplying power sufficient to furnish electric light for all the buildings. Others would also furnish power enough to drive a feed grinder, a churn or cream separator, or to run a wood saw, sewing machine or other machines and implements requiring a small amount of power for their operation. ”

“ All that the dynamo requires to enable it to produce electric current is power of some kind that may be applied in such manner and quantity as will cause the armature, or “interior core,” of the machine to rotate at a sufficiently high and uniform rate of speed. There are various kinds of power generators which will perform this work satisfactorily for isolated plants. ”

“ A small investment would enable many such old powers to be revived and applied to some useful purpose. Such a water-power plant could frequently be made to serve the owner or a group of users of electric current at very small first cost for each individual, and at an operating cost which would be inconsiderable. ”

“ If the speed of the waterwheel is to be magnified more than about six times, it usually requires the installation of a countershaft and another series of pulleys in order to avoid the use of very large and very small pulleys. A pulley which has a very small diameter does not operate satisfactorily without considerable loss of power, and a very large pulley is objectionable on account of the space which it requires. ”

“ The Water Supply Commission believes that the possibilities for small water powers should be pointed out to the people of the State in order that there may be a better realization of the usefulness and value of this remarkable natural resource and that the farmers and residents of rural districts may take advantage of the opportunities to conserve and utilize them. ”

“ This condition is supplemented by a commendable tendency for farmers to live better, to place the home life of the farm on a higher plane, and to make farming a means of pleasurable livelihood rather than the mere eking out of a bare subsistence from the products of the soil. ”